Toy structural support system and building elements therefore

ABSTRACT

A toy structural support system is described with beams and stanchions to support the beams and other accessory elements to form a stable three-dimensional toy building structure. The beams are retained in precision alignment and vertically supported by stanchions which are horizontally stabilized by crossmembers. The crossmembers engage the stanchions with complementary fitting grooves and ribs. In a described embodiment the beams are shaped to form a toy three dimensionally arrangeable track for highspeed vehicles.

D United States Patent 1 1 3,581,987

[72] Inventor Patrick M. Tomaro 3,464,624 9/1969 Christiansen 238/10RMaplewood, NJ. 288,194 11/1883 Watson 104/118 [21 Appl. No. 49,420426,877 4/1890 Stream 238/10R [22] Filed June 24, 1970 799,908 9/1905Humphrey 104/121 Patented June 1,1971 1,482,638 2/1924 Fergusson238/10(R) [73] Assignee Remco Industries, Inc. 1,847,733 3/1932 Traver104/124 Harrison,N.J. 2,534,458 12/1950 Larrabee.. 238/10R 2,768,58810/1956 Robb 104/118 2,919,515 1/1960 Connel] 238/10 E [54] TOYSTRUCTURAL SUPPORT SYSTEM AND 2,943,793 7/1960 Bonanno n 238/1081; P PELEMENTSTHEREFORE 2,992,598 7/1961 Einfalt 238/10(E) nmw'ng 3,051,0948/1962 Shames 104/126 [52] US. Cl 238/10E, Primary Examiner Arthur L LaPoint 5] I CI 46/1 46/216 04/125 Assistant ExaminerRichard A. Bertsch II In. y y Parmelee, Johnson & Bollinger [50] Field ofSearch 238/10 E,

10 F, m A, 10 B; 1O4/1 46/1, 216; ABSTRACT: A toy structural supportsystem is described with 04/143, beams and stanchions to support thebeams and other accessory elements to form a stable three-dimensionaltoy building [56] References cued structure. The beams are retained inprecision alignment and STATES PATENTS vertically supported bystanchions which are horizontally sta- 3,1 1 1,910 11/1963 Pao 104/ 120bilized by crossmembers. The crossmembers engage the 3,115,845 12/1963Girz 104/148 stanchions with complementary fitting grooves and ribs. In21 3,228,607 l/1966 Robinette et a1. 238/10F described embodiment thebeams are shaped to form a toy 3,252,428 5/1966 Steinkamp 147 threedimensionally arrangeable track for high-speed vehicles.

PATENTED Jun 1 l97l sum 1 UP 3 INVENTOR.

PATRKJK M. TOMARO ATTORNE YS FMENIEDJUN H971 3581.987

SHEET 2 [IF 3 INVENTOR.

PATR \CK M. TO MARC BY ATTORNEYS WWQBUW.

PATENTEDJUN nan 02 lllh Q 104 FIG. l2

FIG. l3-

, INVENTOR.

PATRICK M. TOMARO ATTORNEYS a TOY STRUCTURAL SUPPORT SYSTEM AND BUILDINGELEMENTS THEREFORE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to atoy structural support system. More specifically, this invention relatesto an elevated toy track which is vertically supported and aligned bystanchions.

In a toy structure in accordance with the invention, beams are providedwhich are vertically supported by stanchions. The stanchions grip thebeams for support across the beam joints and maintain the beams indesired alignment. The vertical stanchions may be horizontallystabilized with crossmembers which engage the stanchions withcomplementary fitting grooves and ribs. The stanchions are provided withopposing fingers sized to fit in beam recesses to frictionally grip beamwalls between them for beam alignment, support and reinforcement againstcasual release by beam twisting movements.

The toy structure of this invention has been found to he particularlyadvantageous in providing a three dimensionally arranged elevatedvehicle track which may be quickly erected by a child and issufficiently stable to withstand lateral forces from a high-speedvehicle moving over the track.

In an elevated toy track structure in accordance with the invention thebeams are shaped to form track sections supported by stanchions whichalso maintain the adjoining end walls of track sections in properalignment to provide a smooth riding surface for vehicles traveling overthe elevated track. 7

The stanchions engage the track sections with upwardly extendingfingers. Each stanchion is provided with a pair of opposing fingerswhich grip the end walls of adjoining track sections between them. Thestanchions are quickly installed with the track sections to form anelevated track structure wherein each track joint is both preciselyaligned as well as firmly held by the stanchion fingers.

Advantages of the toy structure of this invention reside in itslightweight construction and the ease with which the structure may beassembled by a child. A large variety of complex structure patterns maybe formed in threedimensional configuration.

In a described embodiment in accordance with the invention a variety oftrack accessory devices are provided which are conveniently supported bythe stanchions to form an integral part of an imaginative toy track forenhanced amusement and manipulation by the child.

A track in accordance with this invention is advantageously useful inthe form of an electrified track wherein longitudinal conductors aredisposed on the track sections and reliably maintained in electricalconnection with one another by use of the stanchions,

A further advantage of the toy tracks structure of this invention may befound in a monorail form. The stanchion fingers project upwardly intoend-located recesses of the monorail sections wherein the recesses arebounded by rail section end walls and sidewalls. The fingers of thestanchion are sized to fit within the recesses thus allowing sidewallsof the monorail sections to serve as smooth vehicle riding surfaces. Themonorail form of a track according to this invention is particularlyuseful with a toy train track as disclosed in a copending US. Pat.application entitled Toy Monorail Train System and filed Jan. 29, I970with"Ser.'No. 6,880 6880 and assigned to the same assignee.

Enhanced stability of the toy structure is obtained with the use ofcrossmembers that laterally support the various stanchions located belowadjoined beams. In a preferred embodiment as will be described, thesecrossmembers as well as the stanchions are provided with complementaryfitting surfaces in the form of ribs arid grooves so as to provideprecision alignment of crossmembers, stanchions and accessories. In thecase of the stanchions, these complementary fitting surfaces are alignedwith the fingers of a stanchion so that supported beams have a knownorientation with respect to these surfaces. Similar complementaryfitting surfaces are located on beam accessory devices and crossmembersand the like.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an elevated toystructure. It is a further object of the invention to provide anelevated toy track-which is easy to erect, of lightweight yet stableconstruction to enable toy vehicles to traverse the track at highspeeds.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Other advantages and objects may be understoodfrom the following description of an embodiment in conjunction with thedrawings wherein FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a monorail elevated toytrack structure in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a broken perspective view ofa monorail track joint supportedby a stanchion; I

FIG. 3 is a broken side view of a monorail track joint supported by astanchion;

FIG. 4 is a bottom broken view of a straight monorail track sectionemployed in the track system shown in FIG. I;

FIG. 5 is a view taken along the longitudinal axis of the track of aninterconnected track section, stanchion and track accessory device; 7

FIG. 6 is a section view of a track accessory device mounted section ofa stanchion taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a section view of the stanchion and track accessory devicetaken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the bottom end ofa stanchion;

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of a pedestal adapted to receive a stanchion andis taken along the line 9-9 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is a top broken view of a crossmember for use with a toy trackstructure of this invention;

FIG. 11 is a side broken view of the crossmember shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective'view of an interconnecting member to coupleerossmembers to one another in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 13 is a side broken view in elevation of a pair of crossmemberscoupled together with a connecting member illustrated in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a bottom view of crossmembers coupled to one another by aconnecting member.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT With reference to FIG. 1 an elevated monorailtoy track 10 is illustrated in perspective. The specific toy trackstructure illustrated in FIG. I is exemplary of the advantageous varietyof uses to which the beam structure of this invention can be applied.The toy track 10 is formed of monorail track sections such as 12 whichare elevated with stanchions such as M resting upon a platform or floor.The track 10 is of the electrified type supporting a suitably adaptedtrain 16 capable of high speed travel along the track in a manner suchas disclosed in the previously referred to copending application.Crossmembers such as l820 are provided to engage the stanchions 14 in aninterlocking manner to provide enhanced stability of the toy track 10.Track accessory-devices such as a tunnel 22 is provided. Verticalspacers 24 are located at track crossover points for further elevatedsupport of the toy track.

The elevated toy track 10 is elevated by stanchions 14 which engage themonorail sections 12 at the rail joints 26 both to provide verticalsupport as well as maintain adjoining rail sections in proper alignment.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the engagement of a stanchion 14 with a pair ofmonorail track sections 12-12. The stanchion I4 is formed of an uprightextension 28 terminating in a pair of upright opposing fingers 30-30.The fingers 30-30 are spaced from one another by a gap 32 sized toreceive end walls 34-34 of rail sections l2-12'. The rail sections 12-12are provided with end located recesses 3646' which are bounded by therail section upper walls 3838', the endwalls 34-34 and sidewalls 40-40.The recesses 36-36 are accessible from below the rail sections 12-12 andthe stanchion fingers 30-30 are sized to completely fit in theserecesses to smoothly align upper and sidewalls of adjoining railsections I2-I2' with one another to form smooth high-speed ridingsurfaces for the train I6.

The vertical supporting walls 38-38 are each provided with a pair ofimbedded longitudinal strips of conductors 42-42 which project slightlyabove the surfaces of walls 38-38 for electrical contact with wiperslocated on the train I6. The conductors 42-42 terminate in the vicinityof end walls 34 in end located connector recesses 44-44 which areoriented longitudinally to receive conductive connectors such as 46. Theconnector recesses 44-44' are bounded by cylindrically shaped walls48-48 which project downwardly into the recesses 36-36 of the railsections I2-I2'. As can be seen, the top of the stanchion fingers 30-30seat against the cylindrical walls 48-48.

The connector 46 is formed of a thin metal which is bent into a shape tobring its ends opposite one another. The ends are indented to form pairsof opposite spring tabs 50-50. The connector length is selected so thatone set of opposite tabs 50-50' fit in a recess 44 of one rail sectionand the other set of tabs 50-50 fit in an adjoining and longitudinallyaligned recess 44 of an adjoined rail section. The portions of theconductor strips 42 which protrude into the recesses 44 are conductivelygripped by the opposite tabs 44. The total length ofa connector 46 isslightly less than the combined length of a pair of aligned recesses 44to fully enclose connector 46 and enable the end walls 34-34 of the railsections 12-12 to abut each other when gripped by the fingers 30-30' ofstanchion I4.

Each of the end walls 34 is further provided with a longitudinallyextending protrusion 52 and a protrusion receiving aperture 54. Theprotrusion of one end wall fits into the aperture of an adjoining endwall so that the rail sections are locked against a twisting movementabout their longitudinal axis.

The protrusions 52 are located and sized to slightly project into railend located recess 36 below bulges 56 of the stanchion mounted fingers30. In this manner, a stanchion is inserted into the recesses 36 withsnap-fit action to avoid a casual upward escape of rail sections I2.

The width of fingers 30 is selected to provide extended lateral grippingof the end walls 34-34 to maintain them in abutment and prevent twistingof the rail sections relative to each other in a horizontal plane.

The bottom view ofa rail section I2 in FIG. 4 illustrates the continuityof sidewalls 40 to thus define a channel 58 between end located recesses36. The rail section is of lightweight construction yet of substantialrigidity.

An advantageous feature of the stanchions I4 resides in the employmentof vertically aligned complementary fitting surfaces to interconnect avariety of elements of the track system 10. For instance, the stanchionsI4 as shown in FIG. I are interconnectedwith crossmembers such as I8 andfor track stability. Track accessory devices such as tunnel 22, areelevated by stanchions 14 with precision alignment relative to the railsections 12.

Engagement between stanchions and the other track elements is obtainedby shaping the lower extension 28 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) with vertical ribs60 angularly spaced from one another at right angles and terminate atthe bottom of the stanchion adjacent a downwardly extending central pin62. A circular support shoulder 64 is located below the fingers 30 at apredetermined distance and projects with a radial edge 66 beyond theribs 60.

The ribs are of like size and engage complementary fitting grooves inother track elements. Thus in FIG. 7 a track accessory device in theform of a vertical spacer 70 is shown supported by a stanchion I4. Thespacer 70 is formed of a pair of vertically mounted tunnel sections72-74 which engage each other with a pair of tabs 76 sized to snap fitinto slots located in the lower section 74. The tunnel sections 7274 areshaped to form a passage 78 sized to allow train 16 to pass freelytherethrough.

The lower section 74 is provided with a downwardly extending channelsection 80 having a rectangular bore 82 (see FIG. 7) which is alignedwith the middle of passage 78. Channel 80 is sized to seat on edge 66 ofsupport shoulder 64 of stanchion l4. The channel bore 82 is providedwith opposite grooves 84 sized and spaced to freely receive and retainribs 60 of the stanchion. The grooves 84 are angularly aligned to orientthe stanchion fingers 30 and thus rail section I2 as shown in FIG. 5.Hence, with the ribs 60 and grooves 84, the track accessory device, aswell as the rail sections passing through it, are maintained in accuratealignment. The stanchion support shoulder 64 provides vertical supportof the vertical spacer, the track section I2 as well as other tracksections engaged by a stanchion finger section 86 mounted above theupper spacer section 72.

The stanchion finger section 86 is a truncated portion of a stanchionwith its ribs 60 engaging grooves 84 in a circular bore 88 in the uppersection 72. Note as shown in FIG. 6 how the grooves 84 are distributedat 45 intervals in the bore wall to allow a variety of angular positionsof sections 86 and accommodate differently angled crossovers of tracksections.

The stanchion I4 as shown in FIG. 5 is mounted in a pedestal 90 formedof an upright cylinder 92 having a bore 94 provided with verticalgrooves 84 to receive the ribs 60 of the stanchion I4. The bore 94terminates at the bottom of the pedestal cylinder 92 in a wall 96 havinga central aperture 97 (see FIG. 9) sized slightly smaller than aring-shaped protrusion 98 on the locating pin 62. The stanchion I4 issnap-fitted to the pedestal 90 by pushing the stanchion pin 62 throughthe aperture 97 in wall 96.

Alternatively, the stanchion I4 may rest solely on pin 62 or on aresilient cap 100, made of rubber or the like, pushed onto pin 62 asillustrated in FIG. 8.

FIGS. I0 and II illustrate a crossmember 18 formed ofa rib structure 101and retainers I02 located at the ends and in the center. Retainers 102have through bores I04 sized to receive a stanchion I4. Bores I04 arefurther provided with grooves 84 into which the ribs 60 of thestanchions are located and retained. The retainer grooves 84 areangularly distributed at 45 intervals to correspondingly allow thecrossmember 18 to engage the stanchions 14 at corresponding angularpositions. Crossmember 20 (see FIG. I is constructed in like manner tocrossmember I8 except that the centrally located retainer 102 has beendeleted.

Crossmembers such as I8 may be connected to one another at a crossoverlocation such as at 104 in FIG. I with an interconnecting member 106(see FIG. 12) having ribs similar to those on a stanchion 14. As shownin FIG. I2, interconnecting member 104 is provided with a stop plate 108and when mounted to vertically aligned retainers 102 as shown in FIGS.I3 and 14 provides enhanced rigidity and alignment of the track system.

The toy structure of this invention has been described in a specificembodiment directed at an elevated monorail toy track structure. The toystructure advantageously lends itself for general toy buildingconstructions of a variety as great as a child's imagination. Thestanchion fingers may be adapted to engage other walls of beams toenhance the variety of construction possibilities. It is to be furtherunderstood that the ribs on stanchions and the grooves in accessorydevices may be interchanged so that the stanchions, for instance, havegrooved cylindrical extensions and the accessory devices are providedwith ribs that engage the stanchion grooves.

What I claim is:

I. An elevated toy stanchion supported track for vehicles comprisingtrack sections, each track section having an upwardly facing vehiclesupport surface, said track sections being provided with downwardlyextending end walls shaped to fit adjacent end walls of longitudinallyaligned adjoining track sections, said end walls being shaped to begripped by vertical supporting, track section retaining stanchions, and

vertical track support stanchions having at an upper end longitudinallyspaced end wall gripping fingers, each of said fingers sized to gripadjoining track end walls between the fingers for track section alignedretention across track joints and vertical track section support wherebya quickly erectable sturdy elevated toy track for vehicles is provided.

2. The elevated toy stanchion supported track for vehicles as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said track section end walls are flanked by sidewalls todefine downwardly facing end recesses shaped to receive the fingers ofthe vertical support stanchions. I

3. The elevated toy track supported by stanchions as claimed in claim 2wherein said track section downwardly extending sidewalls extend betweenopposite end walls of a track section to form a downwardly facing openchannel extending longitudinally of the track to form lightweight sturdytrack sections.

4. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 2 wherein the stanchionfingers seat against the bottom of the end recesses to accurately alignthe vertical support surfaces of adjoining track sections for smoothvehicle travel across track joints.

5. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 4 wherein the tracksections end walls are shaped to fit flush with one another.

6. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 5 wherein said tracksections are made of insulator material and are each provided with pairsof longitudinally aligned laterally spaced conductors imbedded in thevertical support surface for electrification of the track, said tracksections each having end located electrical connector recesses inalignment with the conductors which terminate within said recesses, andelectrical connectors shaped to fit within said connector recesses toelectrically engage aligned conductors in adjoining track sections.

7. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 1 wherein said stanchionfingers are shaped to contact track section end walls over laterallyextended regions for enhanced support against misalignment of tracksections in their elevated horizontal plane.

8. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 7 wherein said fingers ona stanchion face one another across a gap sized to frictionally receivea pair of end walls with an upper region of each of said fingers bulginginwardly towards the gap for finger gripping contact at ihtermediatelocations of end walls located in the gap.

9. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 8 wherein each of saidtrack section end walls are provided with a protrusion and a protrusionreceiving aperture located to complementary fit within a correspondingprotrusion and aperture of an adjoining end wall to provide enhancedsupport of aligned track sections against twisting movements of thetrack sections about their longitudinal axis.

10. The elevated toy track as claimed'in claim 9 wherein saidprotrusions are sized to project through apertures of adjoined tracksection between the gaps between stanchion fingers below the fingerbulges to provide a snap-fitting of stanchions to the track sections.

ill. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidstanchions are provided with a support shoulder located a predetermineddistance below the fingers to vertically support toy track accessorydevices.

12. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 11 and further includinga toy track accessory device provided with a downwardly open aperturesized to freely receive the fingers of a stanchion for stanchion fingerprotrusion into the track accessory and with said track accessoryaperture further sized to seat the accessory on the stanchion supportshoulder whereby track sections inserted into the accessory apertureelevatingly support the track accessory device and track sectionsoperatively located with respect to said track accessory device.

13. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 12 wherein saidstanchions and track accessory device aperture are provided withvertical complementary fitting elements in the form of ribs and grooveswith predetermined horizontal orientation to accurately align the tracksection and accessory device rela- 'tive to one another.

14. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 12 and further includingcrossmembers provided with end located stanchion engaging retainershaving complementary fitting elements, said crossmembers being sized toengage with their retainers the respective stanchions for enhanced trackstability.

15. An elevated toy monorail track for monorail vehicles and the likesupported by stanchions comprising monorail rail sections, each railsection being provided with an upper vehicle support surface anddownwardly extending end walls and smooth longitudinal sidewalls, saidmonorail sections having downwardly facing end recesses bounded by thesidewalls and the end walls,

vertical rail section supporting stanchions having at their upper endslongitudinally spaced end wall gripping fingers, each of said fingersbeing sized to project into the end recesses between the sidewalls ofthe rail sections and grip between the fingers the adjoining end wallsof longitudinally aligned rail sections,

said stanchion fingers being spaced to retain rail joints in alignmentand vertically support adjoining rail sections and form a quicklyerectable sturdy elevated toy monorail track.

16. A toy train track system capable of stably supporting a traintraveling at high speed over elevated track comprising a monorail trackformed of an electrically nonconductive material and having smoothlateral support surfaces and provided with a pair of parallel spacedlongitudinally aligned conductors for transmitting electrical power to atrain located on the track, said track being formed of longitudinallyaligned open channel segments, with each segment operatively mountedwith the open ends of the channel segments facing downwardly to formaligned upper and side located train supporting surfaces with otheraligned track segments and track supporting stanchions sized and locatedto engage the track and elevate selected track portions to form a trackwith vertically slanted ramps, said stanchions being provided withupwardly extending track channel engaging members which supportivelyengage the open track channels to elevate the track.

17. The toy train track system as claimed in claim 16 wherein the tracksupporting stanchions are provided with upwardly extending track channelengaging wedging members sized to frictionally grip the open trackchannels for elevation of the track.

1. An elevated toy stanchion supported track for vehicles comprisingtrack sections, each track section having an upwardly facing vehiclesupport surface, said track sections being provided with downwardlyextending end walls shaped to fit adjacent end walls of longitudinallyaligned adjoining track sections, said end walls being shaped to begripped by vertical supporting, track section retaining stanchions, andvertical track support stanchions having at an upper end longitudinallyspaced end wall gripping fingers, each of said fingers sized to gripadjoining track end walls between the fingers for track section alignedretention across track joints and vertical track section support wherebya quickly erectable sturdy elevated toy track for vehicles is provided.2. The elevated toy stanchion supported track for vehicles as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said track section end walls are flanked by sidewalls todefine downwardly facing end recesses shaped to receive the fingers ofthe vertical support stanchions.
 3. The elevated toy track supported bystanchions as claimed in claim 2 wherein said track section downwardlyextending sidewalls extend between opposite end walls of a track sectionto form a downwardly facing open channel extending longitudinally of thetrack to form lightweight sturdy track sections.
 4. The elevated toytrack as claimed in claim 2 wherein the stanchion fingers seat againstthe bottom of the end recesses to accurately align the vertical supportsurfaces of adjoining track sections for smooth vehicle travel acrosstrack joints.
 5. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 4 whereinthe track sections end walls are shaped to fit flush with one another.6. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 5 wherein said tracksections are made of insulator material and are each provided with pairsof longitudinally aligned laterally spaced conductors imbedded in thevertical support surface for electrification of the track, said tracksections each having end located electrical connector recesses inalignment with the conductors which terminate within said recesses, andelectrical connectors shaped to fit within said connector recesses toelectrically engage aligned conductors in adjoining track sections. 7.The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 1 wherein said stanchionfingers are shaped to contact track section end walls over laterallyextended regions for enhanced support against miSalignment of tracksections in their elevated horizontal plane.
 8. The elevated toy trackas claimed in claim 7 wherein said fingers on a stanchion face oneanother across a gap sized to frictionally receive a pair of end wallswith an upper region of each of said fingers bulging inwardly towardsthe gap for finger gripping contact at intermediate locations of endwalls located in the gap.
 9. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim8 wherein each of said track section end walls are provided with aprotrusion and a protrusion receiving aperture located to complementaryfit within a corresponding protrusion and aperture of an adjoining endwall to provide enhanced support of aligned track sections againsttwisting movements of the track sections about their longitudinal axis.10. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 9 wherein saidprotrusions are sized to project through apertures of adjoined tracksection between the gaps between stanchion fingers below the fingerbulges to provide a snap-fitting of stanchions to the track sections.11. The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 1 wherein said stanchionsare provided with a support shoulder located a predetermined distancebelow the fingers to vertically support toy track accessory devices. 12.The elevated toy track as claimed in claim 11 and further including atoy track accessory device provided with a downwardly open aperturesized to freely receive the fingers of a stanchion for stanchion fingerprotrusion into the track accessory and with said track accessoryaperture further sized to seat the accessory on the stanchion supportshoulder whereby track sections inserted into the accessory apertureelevatingly support the track accessory device and track sectionsoperatively located with respect to said track accessory device.
 13. Theelevated toy track as claimed in claim 12 wherein said stanchions andtrack accessory device aperture are provided with vertical complementaryfitting elements in the form of ribs and grooves with predeterminedhorizontal orientation to accurately align the track section andaccessory device relative to one another.
 14. The elevated toy track asclaimed in claim 12 and further including crossmembers provided with endlocated stanchion engaging retainers having complementary fittingelements, said crossmembers being sized to engage with their retainersthe respective stanchions for enhanced track stability.
 15. An elevatedtoy monorail track for monorail vehicles and the like supported bystanchions comprising monorail rail sections, each rail section beingprovided with an upper vehicle support surface and downwardly extendingend walls and smooth longitudinal sidewalls, said monorail sectionshaving downwardly facing end recesses bounded by the sidewalls and theend walls, vertical rail section supporting stanchions having at theirupper ends longitudinally spaced end wall gripping fingers, each of saidfingers being sized to project into the end recesses between thesidewalls of the rail sections and grip between the fingers theadjoining end walls of longitudinally aligned rail sections, saidstanchion fingers being spaced to retain rail joints in alignment andvertically support adjoining rail sections and form a quickly erectablesturdy elevated toy monorail track.
 16. A toy train track system capableof stably supporting a train traveling at high speed over elevated trackcomprising a monorail track formed of an electrically nonconductivematerial and having smooth lateral support surfaces and provided with apair of parallel spaced longitudinally aligned conductors fortransmitting electrical power to a train located on the track, saidtrack being formed of longitudinally aligned open channel segments, witheach segment operatively mounted with the open ends of the channelsegments facing downwardly to form aligned upper and side located trainsupporting surfaces with other aligned track segments and tracksuppOrting stanchions sized and located to engage the track and elevateselected track portions to form a track with vertically slanted ramps,said stanchions being provided with upwardly extending track channelengaging members which supportively engage the open track channels toelevate the track.
 17. The toy train track system as claimed in claim 16wherein the track supporting stanchions are provided with upwardlyextending track channel engaging wedging members sized to frictionallygrip the open track channels for elevation of the track.